When we last saw Rondo, his 13.7 points and league-leading 11.1 assists per game created an average of 38.0 points for the Celtics, and that doesn’t include the new free throw and secondary assist statistics available this season on NBA.com/stats or the C’s increased pace under Brad Stevens.

This season, Jordan Crawford has received 1,301 touches, which ranks 15th among the league’s guards, and the Celtics rank 26th in points per 100 possessions (96.0). It’s safe to assume there’s a correlation there.

The most jarring name has to be Blake, who’s doing a better job replacing Steve Nash on the Lakers than Crawford is substituting for Rondo. When you combine their scoring and passing, only Calderon creates fewer points per game than Crawford (23.8), and that’s because Calderon shares a backcourt with Ellis.

As most interviews with Rajon Rondo do, his live chat with fans hosted by NBA TV’s Jared Greenberg for American Express began with some hilariously dry responses from the Celtics point guard, as he talked fashion for roughly five minutes. But Rondo warmed to the questions over the course of 17:42. Here’s what we learned.

He’s still not rushing his rehab.

“I’m anxious to get back out there, but I want to take my time, make sure this knee is healed 100 percent. I don’t want to rush back and have any second surgeries or get anything drained out of my knee. … I’m participating in some contact drills here and there, and as of now I’ve had no swelling, and I’m feeling pretty good.’

He plans to enter the World Championships of Cornhole.

‘I saw a cornhole tournament on ESPN the other day, about a month ago, and I think I’ll probably try to enter next year and win that. I’m pretty good at that as well.’

Connect 4 comes more naturally to him than basketball, and roller skating is a close third.

‘Probably Connect 4 — the most naturally. Or I could say basketball. I’ve been playing basketball for a long time, but I just love sports in general. I’ve always had a knack for competing, whether it was football, baseball, track. Anything I did, I’ve always wanted to be the best at it, so that’s a trickle down as far as Connect 4 or even skating. I always put a lot of time and practice in when I first started to [roller] skate, because I wanted to be the best.’

Injured Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo made a huge impact on the Garden floor last night. He just did so prior to the game. Rondo and C’s co-owner Stephen Pagliuca surprised high school students Aylin Garcia Soto and Melvin Harrison with a couple $5,000 scholarships in coordination with Sun Life Financial, which also awarded a pair of $50,000 grants to Boston-based non-profit organizations Bottom Line and Brookview House.

Rajon Rondo welcomed Celtics fans to the 2013-14 NBA season, wearing a faux beard to honor the Red Sox. The C’s also showed a tribute video to the Sox prior to the game as owners John Henry and Tom Werner hoisted the World Series trophy at midcourt. Nicely done all around.

Perhaps you’ve heard this one from Rajon Rondo before: “I’ll be returning in the 2013-14 season.”

It’s the exact line the Celtics point guard used on Media Day last month to describe his timeline for returning from ACL surgery: “The 2013-2014 season. Probably some time in the winter. Maybe the fall. You just never know.”

And pretty much the same line a straight-faced Rondo delivered to a Chinese reporter during the unveiling of his new Anta shoe two weeks ago: “I’m right on schedule. I will return this year.” Good times.

Well, he used it again during an impromptu press conference following the C’s preseason upset of the Nets bench. Rondo should go on the road with this shtick. Reporters in New York, Philadelphia, Toronto and beyond will surely get a kick out of it, too. Then again, it might grow tiresome if he doesn’t have new material come February.

So, let’s all just agree there’s no timetable for Rondo’s return. He’ll come back when he’s ready, and he’s not, although he did apparently get fitted for his first knee brace in preparation of his first contact during practice.

‘I knew from the first moment that I talked to him that he was going to be a person that would think not just about what you’re doing but why you’re doing it, and that’s a good thing,” Stevens told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman in their SportsCenter conversation. “This is a great example. When you run a play, there are five guys in five spots, and most basketball players will go to their spot, they’ll do what they’re supposed to do, but they won’t know what the other four spots do, because they don’t understand why you’re doing it. He gets it all, and it’s no different in leading. It’s no different in how we’re coaching or running the organization. He understands the big picture, and I think it’s really important that we continue to share and talk about that, because he’s a big part of this.’

And let’s just say Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge looks at Rondo from a different angle.

“It’s hard to find the perfect situation for everybody,” he told CBSSports.com columnist Ken Berger. “It’s my job to build the Celtics, and Rondo is a big part of that. Will everything be as perfect as he would like it? I don’t believe so, but it’s not perfect for us, either, the fact that he can’t play. I think Rondo is with us. I think he likes a lot of the core guys on our team now, and I think he is optimistic and looking forward to a new chapter.”

Not everyone can capture the enigmatic point guard in words. Actually, nobody quite has. Stevens came closest.